A battle for the post of secretary general of the East African Community (EAC) looms large as two partner states are set to field candidates.
While Kenya has been reported to put pressure to have its national take over, South Sudan is said to front a candidate for the same.
The position of the principal executive officer of the EAC will fall vacant late April this year with the end of tenure of Liberat Mfumukeko.
The Rwanda minister for EAC Affairs and Chair of the EAC Council of Ministers Manasseh Nshuti hinted at a likelihood of the two countries jostling for the post.
Ordinarily,the position of EAC SG, who is principal executive officer of the six nation organization, is held on a rotational basis.
The term of Amb.Mfumukeko, a Burundi national, ends on April 25th after serving for a five year, fixed term from 2016.
Protocol dictates it would have been the turn of Juba to nominate somebody for the post but Kenya is reported to have aggressively lobbied for its national to take the mantle.
Prof Nshuti, who is the current chair of the EAC Council of Ministers,was quoted yesterday saying both Kenya and South Sudan are struggling to have their respective nationals win the post.
"It has been expected to be Kenya's turn (following intense lobbying by Nairobi). President Uhuru Kenyatta is ready to present his country's candidate", he said.
However, the Rwandan minister said on Tuesday this week they received an application from South Sudan seeking to have its national considered for the position.
"It is now up to the Heads of State to decide", he pointed out, insisting that the summit, to be held virtually, will not fall short of picking the new EAC chief executive.
Information that Juba was also fielding a candidate is circulating among delegates attending the pre-summit meetings at the EAC headquarters this week.
As the EAC braces to have a new boss, the 21st Ordinary Summit is set to give policy guidance on the conduct of its virtual and physical meetings.
The regional body has largely replaced its physical meetings, including sittings of its Assembly, with video conferences in the wake of Covid-19.
While the summit will discuss the initiatives to recover from Covid-19 impact,regional business leaders want admission of Democratic Republic of Congo's to the East African Community (EAC) fast tracked.
"DRC offers a large market for the Community small and medium enterprises to tap into", said Peter Mathuki, the executive director of the East African Business Council (EABC).
He said in a statement ahead of Saturday's EAC Heads of State Summit that the process to have the country admitted in the regional bloc to be speeded.
"We are urging regional leaders to direct relevant government bodies to fast track admission of DRC into the EAC bloc", he pointed out.
The 21st Summit of the EAC leaders is expected to take place
virtually this Saturday with consideration of the request by DRC on the agenda.
Mr. Mathuki said opportunities for trade in the vast DRC were enormous and can be fully tapped when the giant country joins the EAC.
Should the country's (DRC) application get a nod from the EAC presidents, "DRC will in turn benefit from the larger EAC Common Market and Common External Tariff (CET) Framework.
EABC which is an apex body of private sector associations and corporates, also wants the summit to come up with lasting solutions toi persistent non-tariff barriers (NTBs).
Others are finalization of the comprehensive review of the EAC CET, harmonization of EAC domestic taxes and tapping into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Through EABC, the business sector in the region has tabled a number of requests to the EAC Council of Ministers' on-going session ahead of the summit.
The requests, according to Mr. Mathuki, are aimed to improve the business environment in the region "and an economy embattled by Covid-19 pandemic".
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